Mau Mau legacy

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14232049

Just read this interesting article about the attempts of victims of the Mau Mau repression to claim compensation from the British Government. It claims that, "Ministers say the UK government is not responsible for the actions of the colonial administration". I was initially a bit sceptical as no specific ministers are mentioned, however another article (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12994190) goes into further detail and attributes the statement to Robert Jay, Foreign Office Counsel.

Needless to say this is untrue and inexcusable. True, Kenya was run by a colonial administration rather than directly from London. However, it was the British Army that led the campaign against the Kenyan rebels and committed the alleged atrocities. A British Governor declared the state of Emergency and the UK Government gave its implicit approval by not criticising these acts.

If home administrations cannot be condemned for the acts of their colonial governors we may need to rethink the Nuremburg trials. Many of the atrocities that the leading Nazis were executed for were committed in Hans Frank's 'Generalgouvernement' of Poland, which had a similar standing in relation to the Berlin government as that of Kenya in the 1950s did to London. However, while most of those who ran the death camps eventually received their just punishment it seems that the crimes against humanity of our own colonial empire are off limits and the victims ignored.

Ps - I really need to get round to reading 'Imperial Reckoning; The Untold Story of Britain's Gulags in Kenya'. I read a Guardian article written by the author about the Kenyan compensation claims and she really seemed to know her stuff and made a strong case for the legitimacy of the victim's claims.